Mar 18, 2013

Creamy risotto, cooked with Spring asparagus, fresh herbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano and a touch of lemon. Perfect as a meatless main dish if you use vegetable broth, or wonderful as a side with grilled shrimp.

This Italian rice dish is a labor of love, not the kind of dish you turn on and walk away from, but instead slowly cooked with ladlefuls of broth, adding more each time it's absorbed. Just before the last ladle, I added fresh asparagus to the last five minutes of cooking time and finished it with a touch of lemon juice and lemon zest.

Because risotto is so simple, I like to use the freshest ingredients when I make it such as seasonal vegetables, fresh herbs and good cheese.

Asparagus is perfect addition to risotto, and now in season. This spear-shaped veggie is an awesome weapon for your health. It’s packed with disease-fighting nutrients including fiber, folate, vitamins A, C, E and K and glutathione, a detoxifying compound that may protect against certain types of cancer. And it’s loaded with age-defying antioxidants that work to neutralize cell-damaging free radicals in your body. Look for spears with tight buds and firm stalks without wrinkles.

In a large saucepan, heat broth over medium-high heat. When it boils, reduce heat to a simmer and maintain over low heat, taste for salt and adjust as needed.

In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil and add the shallots; sauté 3-4 minute. Add the rice; mix well so the rice is coated throughout and saute until the rice is slightly translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add the wine and stir until it is absorbed.

Add a ladleful of the simmering stock; stir and wait until it is absorbed before adding another ladleful stirring gently and almost constantly.

Continue this process until the rice is creamy, tender to the bite, but slightly firm in the center. Add the asparagus along with the last ladle of broth and continue cooking 5 minutes, total time should be about 25-30 minutes from the time you started. When all the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice, parsley and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Serve immediately and top with fresh cracked pepper, lemon zest, and extra grated cheese if desired.

One thing I learned from my Italian friend is to throw the usused asparagus ends in the broth while it simmers and it adds some delicious flavor. I also do a similiar dish to this and add fresh peas and make it with leeks. It's delicious.

I have been absolutely loving risotto lately. I can't wait to try this recipe. It is well worth the work of standing by the stove adding broth and stirring for 1/2 hour. In fact, it's a pretty darn easy thing to make! Thanks for the recipe!

I want to make this for a pot luck dinner with some friends in a couple of weekends. But I am wondering if I could make this the day before and heat it up again on the day of? I don't enough time to make this on the same day.

Hi Gina,I love your blog and have made so many amazing recipes that you have shared. Thank you! So I decided to give this recipe a whirl last night, but didn't have any arborio rice, so I used brown rice. It didn't work out so well - I had to triple the amount of liquid, and it took 2 hours and 20 minutes of stirring crunchy rice before I finally had to abandon it and get to bed. The flavor is excellent, but it is still hard and kind of crunchy.

I know risotto is supposed to be made with white rice, but I've also made it with quinoa before and know it is possible to use something other than white rice, so I'm wondering if you have any suggestions on how to successfully make risotto with brown rice without it taking 2 and a half hours? Thank you, Joli

I've done some experimenting with brown rice risotto. It takes a long time to cook brown rice no matter what, but here's a trick that seems to work pretty well for risotto. Pre-cook the brown rice for about 20 minutes and then drain it. Then follow the risotto recipe as-is by adding the pre-cooked rice to the saute pan. Good luck.

I can't wait to try this!! It looks so yummy!! Thanks for all you do Gina!! I've been introduced to your site a little over a month ago by a friend of a friend and I've tried so many of your healthy recipes in that month and I've lost 26 pounds by eating healthy!! I'm so happy and thrilled so I can't thank you enough. My husband thanks you too Gina!! He's lost 32 pounds in the same amount of time!! Please keep those recipes coming!!

I made this last night and it was amazing!! My husband was a huge fan! I rehydrated wild mushrooms in chicken broth and used that broth for the risotto. I just put the mushrooms in the same time as the asparagus. It was great!! Thanks so much for the recipes Gina!!

I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! My husband ate all except my serving :). This was my first time making a risotto, your directions were easy to follow. It was also the first time I had ever cooked with shallot, I had to you tube how to chop it, lol. But the effort was worth it! Thanks for another great recipe!

Would this work as a make-ahead meal? I'm wondering if this would work to make on a weekend and be able to take it along with me to work since I work nights. I'm not sure how it would hold up as leftovers, especially since I've never made risotto and it says to "serve immediately!" Thoughts? Suggestions? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

This was absolutely delicious! I've been looking for healthier recipes to use for Easter (Instead of the normal holiday side dishes that help my stomach bloat to 3x it's size), and I will definitely be using this one! Going to share this on my blog :)

First Gina I love your site! I've been cooking from it for a long time before I joined WW (again) and now all the time since I'm back on it!

I love risotto, my husband hates cheese, I've never tasted any parm in any risotto I've had, so my question is can it be hidden from him in eating it, or can I leave it out so he'll eat it. Or lastly, do I just make it for myself and let him enjoy some bad take out! :)

I made this today minus the wine. It is very good and light flavored. Mine turned out brownish probably because my shallots turned out more browned on the edges and even the rice got browned a bit. Less white than the photo but still very rich looking. I added less asparagus, a tiny bit of peas, and I added the parsley during the last ladle. I have not added the cheese just yet; will wait until we serve it and likely use romano, since my husband does not like parmesan. Great recipe, thank you. p.s. I made my own vegetable stock too (boiled carrots, celery, parsley, and onion for an hour or so and strained).